Expert Opinion
AIN Blog: Bye-bye Medical Privacy
The recent Germanwings accident may have a profound and negative effect on pilot medical privacy.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from aviation accident history, it’s that new regulations almost always follow when an unusual accident or string of events occurs. The tragic Germanwings accident, where one of the pilots apparently locked the other out of the cockpit then flew into the ground, will lead to new regulations, and not just having to do with requiring two crewmembers in the cockpit at all times. The new regulations will lead to eliminating privacy of medical records.

News coverage from the Germanwings accident--albeit some of which has not being officially confirmed--suggests that the co-pilot Andreas Lubitz had a medical problem that he may not have fully disclosed to his employer. Allegedly, the medical issue was serious enough as to cast doubt on whether he should have been allowed to continue flying commercially.

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Matt Thurber
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